Lithium is a chemical element with symbol Li and atomic number 3, a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, and lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries; battery production alone consumes more than three-quarters of all lithium produced, making battery demand the dominant driver of the modern lithium industry. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
SectorLithium mining and processing 1 FAQs
What is lithium used for besides batteries?
Ceramics, glass, greases, air treatment, mold flux powders and medicine make up most of the remainder.
Batteries dominate, but they are not the only use. In its 2025 Mineral Commodity Summaries, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated global lithium end uses as batteries at 87 percent, ceramics and glass at 5 percent, lubricating greases at 2 percent, air treatment at 1 percent, continuous casting mold flux powders at 1 percent and medical uses at 1 percent. Uses vary by location, so these shares are estimates for the world as a whole.
Where does the United States get its lithium?
Chile and Argentina together supplied about 97 percent of United States lithium imports from 2020 to 2023.
Mostly from two South American suppliers. The U.S. Geological Survey lists United States import sources for 2020 to 2023 as Chile at 50 percent, Argentina at 47 percent and all other countries at 3 percent.
Connections
In Sector
Additional Source Wikipedia: Global Industry Classification StandardGICS: Diversified Metals & Mining
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Lithium
lead sectionQuote, lead section
Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium metal batteries, and lithium-ion batteries.
Wikipedia: Global Industry Classification Standard
WikipediaIn Sector: Materials, GICS: Diversified Metals & MiningView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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